Grant: Elvis Andrus sets the tone with huge night from leadoff spot, but don't expect him to stay there

4/15

Tom Fox/Staff Photographer

Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus (1) points to the dugout after hitting an RBI triple in the second inning as Detroit Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera (24) gives him a pat on the back at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Saturday, May 18, 2013.

ARLINGTON — The Rangers’ leadoff hitter Saturday did everything you could ever ask from a prototypical leadoff hitter or even Rickey Henderson.

He manufactured a run all by himself to start the first. He battled a pitcher for an 11-pitch at-bat to set the tone for a big inning. He reached base all five times. He stole a pair of bases and scored two of the Rangers’ runs in a 7-2 win over Detroit.

Now here’s the thing: He did it with regular leadoff man Ian Kinsler watching from the bench.

While Kinsler, who is having a fine season of his own, missed his second consecutive game with bruised and sore ribs, Elvis Andrus couldn’t have been a better fill-in. Andrus set a career high with five hits and was only a home run shy of the cycle. He single-handedly jump-started the Rangers’ offense with an energetic offensive night that was reminiscent of 2010. That’s when he hit leadoff for the Rangers.

The question now: will the Rangers ever consider doing it again?

“No, I’m not tempted,” said manager Ron Washington, who then referenced the most famous instance of a player ever losing his job due to an injury. “Ian Kinsler has not been Wally Pipped yet.”

Pipp lost his job as the New York Yankees first baseman to eventual Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig, who then went on to play 14 seasons without taking a day off. Kinsler isn’t likely to become the next chapter in that story. He could be back in the lineup Sunday.

If so, Andrus will move back to the second spot in the lineup, having done his job in the interim.

“He was all over the bag,” Washington said. “Right now, he’s got an opportunity to lead the club and he’s taking advantage of that.”

Despite how things looked, Andrus said he wasn’t trying to audition for the top spot in the order, but rather simply trying to get his swing back on track. Using center and right field all night, he did just that. And he got the Rangers’ offense moving.

Andrus started the first with a single, stole second, went to third when the throw went into center field and then scored on a passed ball.

It was only the start.

It was also the only run the Rangers got in the first. They left the bases loaded against struggling Anibal Sanchez, and when Leury Garcia followed Leonys Martin’s leadoff triple in the second inning with a strikeout, it extended the club’s drought with runners in scoring position to 12 hitless at-bats.

Andrus fixed that, too, battling Sanchez for 10 pitches before lining a ball into the right-center gap just off the end of Torii Hunter’s glove on the 11th pitch. It began a three-run rally for the Rangers.

In the third, he singled home another run with two outs and stole second, but was left stranded when David Murphy flied out.

Andrus led off the fifth with a double, then scored on Lance Berkman’s double to left-center. It tied Andrus’ career high and put him in position to at least try for the cycle if he got another at-bat.

And try he did.

“Oh, yeah, I was going for it,” Andrus said of his eighth-inning at-bat that resulted in a flared single to right field. “[Adrian] Beltre told me I better take three hard swings no matter what, but I had to go for it. He just kept the ball down low. Either way, I’m super happy. We won. And I’m happy with my approach.”

And about the leadoff spot? Sure looked like he enjoyed it.

“When you have nights like tonight, you love it,” Andrus said. “I was just trying to do my job. It’s a different job in the leadoff spot. It’s all about being on base and setting the tone.”

The tone has perhaps never been set better by a leadoff hitter.

Catch Evan Grant’s Ranger Reports all season on The Ticket (KTCK-1310 AM) on Tuesdays at 9:35 a.m. with The Musers, Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. with The Hardline and Thursdays at 2:15 p.m. with BaD Radio.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.